EditCarl Potter
POW/MIA Vigil, June 13, 2008, West Haven, CT
I would like to thank Pattie for inviting me to share the story of my father, Carl L. Potter Sr.’s time as a POW during WWII.
My brother was 6 and a half years when old our father departed the United States for England. He didn’t get to see our father again until a month and a half before his 8th birthday. I dedicate this to my brother Carl Lewis Potter, Jr.
April 24, 1944 shot down
May 3, 1945 LIBERATED!
Carl Lewis Potter, Sr. Army Serial #31 179 610
POW #106404, Stalag XVII B, barracks 29A
On August 31, 1942 my father was inducted into the United States Army Air Forces. He was a Staff Sergeant in the 306th Bomb Group (H), 369th squadron, the Fightn’ Bitin’. He flew in a B-17, Flying Fortress. One plane he flew in was DAMNEDIFIKNOW.
On March 1, 1944 he left for Thurleigh, England arriving on March 14, 1944. That would be his home airfield for the 5 flights he flew before being shot down. He became part of the crew for 2Lt David B. Ramsey in a B-17 #42-30730 named "Dearly Beloved" as one of two waist gunners, the unofficial armorer, fixing machines that broke down and the unofficial medic providing first aid on flights.
On April 24, 1944 their mission was to fly to Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany and bomb the Dornier aircraft factory. Had he completed this mission he would have been awarded the Air Medal.
There were 36 planes in the formation that day flying at about 25 or 26,000 feet when they encountered flak. After leaving the flak field the German fighters came in at the formation from all different directions. This attack on the formation lasted about half an hour.
When my father’s plane was first hit in an engine there was gas streaming in. Another gunner continued firing and my father kept calling over to the other gunner telling him to stop shooting. The other gunner finally caught on and realized that if he kept it up they’d all go up in a ball of flames. He stopped shooting. The pilot asked the navigator to plot a course to Switzerland, they never made it. They were hit in another engine and the pilot rang the bail out bell. They had fires in both wings.
This is the account from the MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) # 4278:
"At approximately 1355 hrs., near Augsburg, Germany Lt. Ramsey was hit by Fighters; No 3 and No 4 engines were out when he peeled out of formation. No chutes were observed.”
After they parachuted down, they landed on a farm. They stopped and picked potatoes to eat on their 11 mile hike to Switzerland and safety. Unfortunately because of the large air battle, the German authorities would have seen them jump and land in the farm. Because of that, the farmer had to call the police and report the Americans in his field or he and his family would have been killed. My father told me they weren’t mad at the farmer, they understood it was them, or the farmer and his family. My father and the other men were turned over to the local police and eventually handed over to the German Air Force. A German Air Force doctor dug embedded shrapnel out of my father’s leg.
He was sent to Stalag XVII B, barracks 29A.
Roll call was done at a minimum of every morning and evening, sometimes more often during the day. It lasted from 1 to 3 hours. Tunnelers planned their work around the roll calls. To throw the Germans off the POWs would make fake tunnels. My father did not participate in tunnel digging. Surprise head counts were done on barracks that were suspected of having tunnels.
Barracks were built to accommodate about 240 men in each. In reality about 400 were crowded into each barrack. The beds were triple-decked. To stay warm in the winter the men doubled up in the beds. They sometimes had cold running water from 7 to 8 in the morning, 11:30 to noon, on again for a little while at 5 and then again from 9:30 to 10 at night. There was no hot water. For a punishment, it wouldn’t get turned on at all. They were allowed to shower once every 6 months. When the fleas and lice got really bad they were fumigated. They were not always sure they would make it out of the fumigation alive.
Lower ranking Americans worked outside the camp, mostly on farms, which was an advantage as they could smuggle in extra food. My father didn’t have to work on the farms.
The younger American POWs, still in their teens, didn’t have the stamina to eat the same food day after day after day, which mainly consisted of mashed turnips, rotten rutabaga soup, some type of black bread that seemed to be made of saw dust and something like tea. They had to use 1 tea bag for 4 individual cups of this tea like substance. I’ve read accounts of what was in the soup; it’s too upsetting to talk about. My father never discussed that with me and I never asked. Some of the younger men couldn’t physically swallow the mashed turnips and rotten soup day after day. My father was in his 30’s and had a young son back home. He told me he was determined to survive to get back to my brother, so he ate everything he was given and anything he could get his hands on. I recall growing up that on Thanksgiving he never, ever ate the turnips. He also ate very fast. He told me that was because when he was a POW he had to eat fast or risk the chance of not eating anything at all.
One of the men in camp was able to build a crystal set radio. This man bribed the guards for the radio makings. Once you bribed a guard you had him. With the radio they were able to know who was winning the war. My father told me that my brother was the reason he never tried to escape. He had seen men shot in the back and killed for trying to escape. He wouldn’t risk being killed and not making it back home to my brother when he could hear on the radio that the war was expected to end soon.
To help keep moral up and try and keep some sense of normalcy they held bridge tournaments. The entry fee for a team of 2 varied from 4 cigarettes to 1 candy bar. My father and his partner came in 2nd in their first tournament. The winners got to keep most of the entrance fees, the 2nd place team got the rest. Another way he helped keep their minds occupied was by teaching first aid classes to other POWs. In his real life back home he was a volunteer member of the National Ski Patrol. My father developed a mean underhand throw. He would tie something heavy on to a pack of cigarettes and throw them underhand over the fences. German civilians would then throw back fresh vegetables, mainly turnips and potatoes. American cigarettes were converted by the Germans. Back in the states he put his highly developed underhand throw to good use after he got home. He coached the women’s softball team where he worked, AMICA Insurance in Providence, RI.
The POWs would get packages from home, but the German guards would open them and take all the good stuff out before the POWs were given them.
The only way to get American cigarettes was from the Red Cross as the guards would take any that family members would mail over.
My brother, who was almost 7 when our father was shot down, recalls that they received 2 War Department announcements, the first was the MIA telegram, the 2nd would have been the POW telegram and 1 letter from my father. He can still remember the night the MIA telegram was received.
The Russian POWs were treated much worse than the Americans were. From what I’ve read the Germans held the American air men in high regard. I recall my father talking about POWs from other countries and how they had been reduced to behaving like animals. Not the Americans, they had been taken prisoners, but they never surrendered.
They could hear on the radio that Russians troops were advancing from the East. The Germans didn’t want the Russians to get the American flyers, so as the Russians approached the camp the Germans made the POWs evacuate. The POWs were given overcoats. My father picked the largest size he could find so that he could stuff material inside it to insulate it. On April 8, 1945 4,000 of the POWs began an 18 day, 281 mile forced march to Braunau, Austria. Each night they had to dig latrines when they stopped to sleep. They slept on the hard ground with nothing but their overcoats. They were given next to no food during the 18 days, many days they had nothing to eat. They ended the forced march on a hilltop with no camp. The Germans gave the POWs axes to chop down trees to build a new camp.
On May 3, 1945 a Captain and four infantry men in a jeep from Patton’s 3rd Army arrived to liberate them. After the American POWs wildly greeted the Captain they turned around there was not a German to be found. The Germans had all run into the woods and taken off. The Captain instructed the now former POWs to stay put that medical help was on the way. He explained that if they took off into the woods the help coming would never be able to find them and get them back home. I was surprised to learn that my father, a stickler for obeying orders and rules, took off. He found a farm house and communicated via hand signals and got some bread to eat. My brother told me that when Daddy told the next part he re-enacted it, I won’t act it out. My father then squatted down, grunted and then clucked and flapped his arms like wings. The farmer’s wife nodded her head and got him an egg. He left, somehow cooked the egg and then returned back to the rest of the former POWs.
The next day a group with medics arrived. They fed the Airmen some type of a milkshake, but no solid food.
May 9, 1945 the former POWs were evacuated to France.
The majority of them came home on ships. From what I’ve read none of them wanted to go back into a plane. I can recall my parents making plans to go to a reunion of his Bomb Group. My father called the airline and asked if they gave out parachutes. They drove to the reunion. On June 2, 1945 he left Europe for the USA. He arrived back in the USA on June 11, 1945.
My father returned to my Grandmother and brother on June 12 1945, 63 years ago yesterday.
EditRebuilding of Piper J-3C-65
My first flight in Piper L-4, N49750, at LEX on August 3, 2005, went almost flawlessly with the exception of a lower than normal oil pressure which cut the flight short. Although this flight was brief, it was significant for a 63-year-old airplane that has been ground-bound since 1960.
Since I was a kid, I wanted to restore a rag-wing airplane. As a youth, J-3’s, L-4’s, Taylorcrafts, Champs were all classifieds I enjoyed reading in Trade-A-Plane issues while dreaming of purchasing an old run-out and fixing it up just as new. A new subscription to the Cub Club newsletter in late 1991 prompted the editor, Mike Strock, to inquire what my interests were in his newsletter. Explaining my life-long restoration desire, Mike included an ad in the next edition indicating my interest in purchasing a project, unbeknownst to me.
That winter, a call came from Mr. Jim Bagwell of Dalton, GA who told me of an L-4 he and his brother-in-law began restoring when his brother-in-law suddenly passed away. Jim said he saw an ad where I was looking for an L-4. Being dumbfounded, I told him I placed no such ad while he insisted that I did. Quizzing him further, he mentioned the Cub Club newsletter, which I had not yet read, and I then recalled my conversation with Mike Strock. Arrangements were made with Mr. Bagwell for my family to stop by on our way back home from Florida on spring break. Yes, Mike did a pretty good job on the ad as it turned out.
During spring break we stopped to visit the Bagwells. Mrs. Bagwell served cookies and milk to Debbie, my wife, and our two young daughters while Mr. Bagwell showed me the L-4 project in his basement. It was literally a wreck. The emotions of a potential great project took hold and I agreed to Mr. Bagwell’s generous terms and to work out future logistics for moving the plane to Lexington. On the ride home, I dared not tell Debbie who had already forewarned me that we were “looking” and certainly not “buying.” Sometimes wives don’t appreciate the passion of men’s hobbies when opportunities present themselves.
Several months after my purchase, fretting as to how to move the L-4 from Dalton to Lexington, I saw Dr. George Gumbert, a friend and local airport board member, at a party. George and his wife, Skip, owned several old planes, including a Waco, and I enthusiastically told him about the L-4 purchase with Debbie quietly listening. George and Skip always wanted an L-4 for sentimental reasons because Skip’s brother flew one during WWII. Not knowing anything about aircraft restoration, I disparately needed a knowledgeable partner, so we agreed to co-own the L-4 and restore it together. Needless to say, having now learned of my secret purchase, Debbie was upset and vocal with me on the way home, continuously reminding me of my folly and concluding that the L-4 would remain a piece of junk. Her conclusion was pretty much true for the next 11 years.
In late July, 1992, using George’s flatbed and truck, we transported the L-4 to Lexington. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies traveling down the interstate and caught many stares. Shortly thereafter, arrangements were made with a mechanic in east Tennessee to begin the restoration and we transported the ship to his shop using the same flatbed and truck. After two years of having no work being completed, our mechanic left town and arrangements were made with another nearby mechanic to take over the project. Monies were advanced with, again, no work being performed and the individual skipping town. The local airport manager contacted us and asked us to move our project. Finally, after another year, he demanded it be moved, and we trailered it back home.
Once back in Lexington, parts of the L-4 were stored in my hangar and George’s hangar where they sat for the next three years. Debbie’s insightful predictions were now sadly a reality.
During this time, I began to research the background of N49750. Military service records showed it being received by the USAAF as an O-59A on February 16, 1942. According to its military serial number 42-15175, it was procured in the first large batch of O-59’s purchased. A few months were spent flying submarine patrol along the east coast of Florida, and during this time, the O-59’s officially became designated as L-4A’s. The remainder of the war saw 42-15175 used in training exercises in Wisconsin, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, then finally to North Carolina. In March, 1945, it was decommissioned in North Carolina, rebuilt, assigned N49750, and over the next 14 years had 14 different owners.
FAA records showed one individual owned N49750 from 1959 until 1988, the longest period of ownership. But, in April, 1970, the owner had reported to the FAA that the aircraft was destroyed. Evidently the remaining salvage was sold in 1988 to an individual who subsequently sold it to Mr. Bagwell in 1989. So, I am the 18th owner of N49750. Why was N49750 reported destroyed and what led to its demise? My attempts to find any owner prior to Mr. Bagwell were unsuccessful. It appeared that all previous owners were now passed away and my attempts to uncover past history on N49750 had come to an end. Or, so I thought.
Goofing off one evening on the internet, I uncovered an individual with the same family name in the same town where N49750 was based when it was reported destroyed. After a few telephone calls, I located the owner’s son. The son welcomed my inquiry and informed me that in the spring of 1960 an unfortunate thunderstorm produced hail large enough to destroy the fabric rendering the aircraft unairworthy. It remained disassembled and stored until 1970 when the aircraft was reported destroyed by his dad to the FAA. The airframe and remaining few parts were sold by the family in 1988. The son had retained his dad’s old log book and had a picture of himself, his mom and dad with the airplane taken in 1960 when he was six years old. Copies of these were emailed to me.
The picture showed the son in the rear seat, his young mother in front, with his father standing by the cockpit door. Their cub had a white underbelly with black on top rounding out to the bottom of the front cowling in a paint scheme typical of 1960. It was a great family photo. Unfortunately, the son never flew, and upon his Dad’s passing, the aircraft was sold. Luckily, this new owner reserved the original N number assigned, N49750, which was still available. The FAA had delisted the tail number once the L-4 was reported destroyed in 1970.
During February, 2003, George’s wife Skip passed away and George expressed his desire to sell their interest in the L-4 back to me, which was accomplished. Around this same time, I ran into a local Lexington A&P who was looking for a wintertime project and a deal was made. My interest began growing once again in the project. However, a few months passed and he was suddenly transferred to Denver. Back to square one.
One August afternoon soon thereafter, I ran into David Trapp, another local aviation enthusiast who was in the process of restoring a North American T-6, his second T-6 project. David proudly showed me his project at his hangar and I recounted the sad story of my L-4. David emphatically told me that the only way it would ever fly is if I restored it myself. Having no experience, this was almost impossible for me to do alone. In a very weak moment, David, with his desire to see old birds fly, made the commitment to help get the L-4 restored and flying. David enlisted the help, review and guidance of a local A&P, P. J. Lacato, and a friend of his, Mark Thompson, to assist in the work. This began a fun two year restoration project.
Work began around 2003 Labor Day weekend. David had me begin by sanding the fuselage frame clean to the metal. This took almost two weeks of working weekends and a few weekday nights. I began questioning my commitment due to the level of hard work and the time requirement which was affecting my golf game and time at home. Aircraft restoration is a true commitment, I was finding out. The fuselage was finally sanded, primed, and in late fall it was onto the wings.
Upon inspection, the back spar in both wings were cracked, most of the ribs had damage and needed replacing, so the wings were both torn down. The spars were remanufactured, the ribs replaced, and the wings covered using the Stits Process. The time I spent in my hangar on those beautiful fall days rib stitching became enjoyable and great relaxation from work. Local airport interest in the project at my hangar increased and I made many new airport friends who periodically would stop by to check on our progress. Seeing progress being made only increased my excitement and commitment to the project and it became a lot of fun. Fall was quickly turning into winter, and David agreed to move the project into his heated hangar.
Since golf season was over, I began a routine of stopping by the hangar after work to spend a few hours each evening on the L-4. David and his finance, Carrie, would be there each evening after work as well to work on their T-6 restoration. Many evenings were spent working on airplanes, sharing stories, with Carrie preparing delicious late dinners. Occasionally, Debbie would join us at the hangar for dinner now declaring herself converted from a “golf widow” to an “airplane widow.”
During that winter, the project steadily progressed with the wings and tail surfaces completed. The panel, instruments, and engine were installed. The engine was started for the first time on late cold winter evening by David and Mark while I was away on a business trip. They emailed me a cool video of the first engine start, complete with sound. Excitement was building and I could not wait to get back to the hangar to see it run. Wings and tail surfaces were installed. Everything was coming together. Once rigging was completed, the fuselage was completely disassembled for final Stits cover.
The fuselage interior and exterior fabric cover was complete by the end of summer, 2004. Painting of the entire aircraft was begun during the fall. After research, I chose a silver standard military paint scheme adopted in 1945, with military markings, patterned after the very early L-4’s delivered by Piper. Painting was completed by year-end and final assembly was begun.
By early spring, 2005, the aircraft was coming together and looked great. A late spring completion was anticipated. Focus now shifted to paperwork. Ron Fortener, a Designated Aircraft Reviewer (DAR) was recommended by the FSDO and was contacted. P. J. assisted us through a number of Form 337’s to be filed. Since the original airworthiness certificate was surrendered in 1970, a new one was applied for and a conformity inspection was required. Ron first visited at the end of May and made a list of mostly paperwork modifications that would be needed. The big request was to have both Piper and Continental reissue data plates on both airframe and engine, a requirement we did not anticipate. This process took several weeks, a number of telephone calls and faxes, and was finally accomplished by the middle July.
Ron visited once again on August 2, 2005, completed the conformity inspection and issued an Airworthiness Certificate. After 45 years of sitting in barns and basements, N49750 was prepared once again to return to the air.
Enthusiasm among my airport buddies had been growing anticipating the L-4’s first flight. My desire was to make the flight myself with just David and I around with no family or friends to make me nervous. David and I chose the next evening to make the fight.
That next evening was beautiful, but hot, with temperatures in the 90’s. As we prepared, Carrie arrived with sacks of chips, dip, and beer for a post flight celebration. Debbie was on her way back that evening from Dallas, visiting our daughter, and I did not tell her of the flight to keep her from being nervous. Slowly my airport buddies started showing up, one by one, and before I knew it 11 were gathered to see the first flight. Jokes and prayers were generously offered and the flight was fast becoming a reality show. I was nervous and did not want this much attention.
The first flight profile had already been prepared. David had prearranged the flight with the control tower to coordinate with other airport traffic and the tower personnel greatly assisted even allowing our entourage to go out to the runway to film and witness. Although confident of every nut and bolt in the aircraft, I nervously went through my head every contingency plan imaginable, hoping N49750 would fly.
Taxiing out, all I could think of was all the fun work and good times that went into the restoration of this aircraft. Don’t mess it up now! Power was applied and the L-4 was at 200 feet before I realized it. It flew great with perfect rigging and trim. What fun to fly!
Going around the pattern, the oil pressure remained on the low side, so landing clearance was requested and granted. A perfect landing was made. This old L-4 flew like the new aircraft it was. Everyone was there to greet me upon rollout. Debbie even arrived shortly after the flight to learn of my survival. This former, hopeless piece of junk was now a beautiful flying bird.
Carrie had videoed the entire flight and we all went to a local pub to review the flight, watch the video, and continue the celebration. Two years of fun and hard work had paid off.
This was not just my project. The L-4 would not be flying without the support of others. Debbie sacrificed the most by surviving many lonely evenings by herself when I was at the airport. She allowed me many hours for the project and much patience. David’s assistance, discipline, and vast restoration knowledge proved invaluable and he kept me to the task. Mark’s knowledge and help also greatly contributed to the beautiful aircraft. Carrie kept our strength up with many great meals, her enthusiasm for the project, and her everlasting encouragement. Many airport friends provided much emotional support including Betty Moseley, George and Cathy Smith, and others.
Several more flights were subsequently conducted with the oil pressure still not performing as desired so the decision was made to overhaul the engine. By year-end, 2005, the overhauled engine was reinstalled and ran perfect with consistent oil pressure readings. Problem solved! We all look forward to a long anticipated fun flying year beginning in the spring of 2006. Keep an eye out for L-4 N49750 in the sky!
Bobby Owens
02/02/06
EditP-51 Is/ is not the Best Fighter
I have read all the comments that the P51 is or is not the best Fighter Plane. It was!
First comparing the performance of all the WW2 aircraft. All had similar and competitive performance envelopes and were successful at their missions.
Of course there is technical information why one plane was a bit superior to another.
BUT Pilot experience and tactics were key. That is why a High Altitude Lumbering Plane like the P47
was very successful. Pilots applied those Lumbering aspects to great effect.
Nothing wrong with being a Large Plane when you use it in its element.
YET what sets the Mustang apart from all others is that it was the most cost effective fighter made
up to that time. Its performance matched with every aircraft made and could do it in
the enemies back yard.
The next consideration. North American was a well organized and managed company.
They were easy to make and one of the lowest cost to produce. NA had 3 major successes that
proved to be the best of their era and venerable for many decades after. The P51, A26 and F86.
The Mustang regardless of configuration had compatible engine components available wherever
they fought.
Operational cost the lowest. Especially fuel/hour. Part availability made it easy to maintain. Carried a comparable war load and able to fight well at all altitudes.
Performance and cruise speed was far faster and more economical then any other fighter in WW2.
It could be used on short unimproved airfields. Which was the case in Korea and a reason P47s were not used.
A key reason, its range and loitering to get to and stay in the fight. They were a bit more stealthy
with small lines that could blend better into the background easier then a big beautiful BLUE plane, or twin engine or the larger fighters.
Egress was key. With the Mustangs speed and loiter time they could break off the fight from the
enemy and usually could not chase them home. Even if they had the fuel to do so. Loitering time was a wonderful aspect for ground support.
As an example it was the same one reason why the Zero was so good. It nailed us in the Philippines
and had better high altitude performance then most of our planes at the time. But dog fighting always degraded to lower altitudes where flight envelopes became more equal. So we did ok against it.
Below 20k most aircraft had competitive performance and the battles were fairly even. The ability to fly higher was always an advantage. It gave you choice when to attack or leave. A pilot had to be careful to dogfight above 25,000ft. Not enough air. Considering a B-17 can out maneuver a Me110 above 30k.
At high altitude an aircraft can do a lot of banking but hard turning you could cause a high speed spin out.
A characteristic problem the MIG had with its tail getting in the way of the air stream.
But high speed turning without bleeding off energy was a Mustangs forte' at all altitudes.
An example, some Reno Air Racer clipped their planes wings too much. Could run like stink on the
straight-a-ways but hung a Hard 10 to get wing to grip for the turns.
The clipped wings did not have enough lift. The turn took away too much energy and the speed was bled away. Then got passed.
Now for ground support the Thunderbolt and Corsair were considered more rugged. Maybe a little better in some aspects but not necessarily so. The Corsair and Thunderbolt were both subject to getting
their large oil coolers and lines hit. They would burst into fire just about every time.
Corsairs until the AU-1 were often downed by small arms fire during Korea. The first African
American pilot flying a Corsair was lost to prepared small arms rifle fire. They hit his oil cooler.
His buddy from the same carrier crash landed his Corsair to help him. But could not as he was
lodged in his wreck and died. A is a great story about bravery and loyalty. Love for a dear and
valued friend.
Examining the features of the Thunderbolts Turbo Supercharger and its oil system would be just
as subject to the predations of antiaircraft fire as a Corsair. Unless those areas were hardened.
The Mustangs if hit in the radiator would be able to fly out of the area and the pilot rescued.
But overall the anti aircraft fire hit and knocked down all our planes. The AD1/4, A26, Tigercats, Corsairs,
Mustangs in Korea all had a similar loss per sortie records. This includes shoot downs in highly defended areas.
WW2 appears to have the same loss records per sortie. The vast majority of fighter aircraft shoot
downs was lost to ground fire.
During Korea the Jets (F80's, F84's and F86's) replaced the props and were more rugged and resistant to small arms fire. But they got nailed too. Most of the good stuff thrown up were 50cal, 20mm, 30mm and 37mm. The Saber survived the best because of their speed.
So to recap. The Mustang was the Best. It was the most potent and most cost effective and overall
plane any of the combatants produced in WW2. It went on to service air forces for several more decades.
This the cost/value factor is one of the main reasons why the US Navy is converting to the Super Hornet.
It matches nearly all competing aircraft in performance and capability. BUT the key element, it costs about $1,400/hour to operate compared to the F14 which runs about $6,000/hour to operate.
Boom for the Buck, Performance for Performance the Mustang was the Best Fighter Aircraft and Fighter Bomber Solution we had in WW2.
Dan Fahey
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